What is reactivity?

Reactivity is an emotional response to a particular trigger that causes the dog to become fearful, anxious, nervous, and simply overwhelmed. This behavior shows itself as lunging, barking, growling and causing a dog to fixate on the stimuli as if its the only thing in the world… More than 60 to 70 % of dogs are reactive, yet reactive dog owners feel alone. KNOW you are NOT alone.

There are many causes for reactivity but the way to fix it is the same : counter conditioning , proper rewards in the moment to recreate a position association with the trigger, and LISTENING to the dog. This simply means when the dog is past the point of being able to to focus on anything other than its trigger… we move further from it to ease their emotional tension and help them realize their owner has their back!

To put it in perspective… Reactivity in dogs is very similar to PTSD in humans… When presented with a trigger, our subconscious takes over and we react emotionally to it verses being able to comprehend its not a threat and respond calmly to the situation. For dogs, its even harder for them to respond verse react because their intelligence isn’t as complex as ours and they can’t be educated on the reasons why they are reacting to a trigger….. Confusion to dogs causes fear, fear causes fight or flight responses. Fight or flight responses cause unwanted communication and innate behaviors such as barking, biting ,lunging and so on.

As an individual with CPTSD herself, Amillie understands reactive dogs on an emotional, psychological and behavior level. Her ability to help them is top notch due to this. She considers reactivity as a specialty and thoroughly enjoys working with reactive and fearful dogs!

Do you have a reactive dog? Did reading this confirm that you do and you want Amillie’s help for your dog? GREAT! Click the link below to get started!

“It is a common problem for dogs to be fearful,” says Dr. Klein. “Fear is a defense mechanism and isn’t something we have to eliminate entirely. Wolves and other wild canids rely on fear to keep them alive, but when fearful behavior poses dangers to the dog or other family members, we have to intervene.”

There are many stimuli that dogs can be fearful towards.

• Noises, sights, sounds, smells, or movement can all be scary for a dog. Figuring out why your dog is afraid isn’t always necessary to fix the problem, but it often helps.

Casues of an unnaturally fearful dog can be attributed to multiple reasonings:

• A lack of exposure is the biggest reason for a fearful dog. Dogs are naturally afraid of new things, and dogs that grew up in a deprived environment might be jumpier around “normal” things like traffic cones or men in hats. Even dogs that had a normal upbringing are often afraid of new things that we humans know are harmless.

• Dogs might be afraid of things because of a scary past experience. A dog might have had a bad experience with a certain place, sound, type of person, or object. If the experience was scary enough, they’ll probably be scared of it next time they see it and so on.

• Some dogs are also genetically predisposed to being more fearful. Certain breeds are known for being jumpy, suspicious, or timid. Poor genetics or just the luck of the draw can also be a factor. Getting to know your chosen breed as well as your individual animal is important.

Though there are multiple causes for dogs to become fearful, the training techniques to regain their confidence are predominantly the same.

Using what motivates the dog to make positive associations, as well as listening to their fearful communications and not expecting too much we can use counter conditioning to help them realize this world is not as scary as their brain tells them it is.

Anxiety in many dogs can be hard to distinguish. Below are signs of anxiety in dogs as well as types of anxiety commonly seen.

Common signs of anxiety in dogs include:

• Barking or howling when alone or consistently in moments there's no reason to be worrisome etc. ( calm quiet environments and situations)

• Panting and pacing (even when it's not hot) *

• Shivering (not when wet or cold)

• Running away and/or cowering in the corner of a house

• Digging (obsessively)

• Escaping the yard

• Destroying furniture

• Self-harm, including excessive licking or chewing

• Not eating , not drinking

• Urinating more frequently , or not at all

• A general inability to settle.

Dogs with anxiety tend to be fearful, insecure, and consistently stressed, or easily stressed.

Types of anxiety in dogs

• Separation anxiety

• Extreme fear of loud noises.

• Unreasonably jumpy and fearful of certain triggers or stimuli.

When a dog has anxiety, training and treats are not enough. Many times medication is needed to help them realize the world is okay… Medication along with training techniques and confidence building protocols, can help help anxious dogs learn to exist in the world as it is.

Don't Punish the Growl !!!

Never punish a growling dog. You can punish away a growl, sure, but all you've done is make a dog bite more likely. If your dog learns that growling to express their discomfort at your approach results in an aversive manner (yelling, physically punishing etc.) and the loss of the item they were guarding, the next time you reach for it, they're more likely to skip the growl and go straight for a bite. Ignored warnings will escalate behavioral responses. You don't want to take away important warning signs that your dog needs to communicate with you.

So many clients come to me for help with resource guarding and tell me, "We wanted to prevent resource guarding, so we'd always stick our hands in our dog's food bowl while they were eating, or randomly take away their chew. That way, they know who's boss and that the food or chew belongs to us." Instead of the desired result, they now have a dog who snaps when they reach for the bowl or a dog that lashes out even at just their walking by the bowl.

All this does is annoy your dog and teaches them that when you reach for something, they'll lose it. The result of this is them realizing whatever they have will be taken away, so they react to prevent that.